New Delhi, India, February 1, 2021: Like father, like daughter. Indian shooter Ria Rajeshwari Kumari, daughter of multiple Olympian and 1978 Asian Games gold medallist Raja Randhir Singh, won the gold medal in the women’s trap event at the Asian Online Shooting Championship which ended on Saturday, January 30.
Ria Kumari took home the gold with a score of 138, and was one of four Indian shooters to win the top prize at the two-day competition hosted by the Kuwait Shooting Federation.
Ria Kumari’s victory will undoubtedly have pleased dad and the Olympic Council of Asia’s Honorary Life Vice President, Raja Randhir Singh, himself a shooter of a high calibre having represented India in the shotgun event for a record 31 years – from 1964 to 1994 – and holds the distinction of competing in six successive Olympic Games.
Randhir Singh, who is also Chairman of the OCA Coordination Committee, proudly commenting on his daughter in a recent interview, said: “It really feels nice to see the next generation doing well. I’m happy that she is competing in my event – trap shooting.”
Competing from the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, Indian shooters won four of the eight gold medals on offer at the Asian Online Shooting Championship, besides two silvers and five bronzes. Among the other gold medallists was Asian Games champion Saurabh Chaudhary, who won the men’s 10m Air Pistol.
This was the first competition for Indian shooters post the lockdown and it served as a good preparation for the upcoming ISSF World Cups in February/March in Cairo and in April in New Delhi - where Ria Kumari will be part of the Indian trap shooting team.
A total of 274 shooters from 22 Asian countries took part in the two-day event.